Ichigo and Ryou alone
by Power-of-all
Summary: Ichigo comes to work as usual, only to find everyone is gone. The weather forces her to stay inside with Ryou. What happens? Read and find out.Rated T, and complete.
1. Alone

**I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew**

**A Ryou and Ichigo story. Enjoy!**

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It was a rainy day in Tokyo, Japan. It was a constant heavy rain that normal people would avoid being out in. Unfortunately, Ichigo didn't have that luxury. She had to go to work, and she wasn't old enough to drive a car.

Pulling her raincoat higher on her shoulders, she shivered as the wind gusted and chilled her to the bone. "Damn that Ryou...why does he insist on going to work when its raining?" Ichigo asked herself as she saw Café Mew Mew.

She came to the front doors, but was puzzled when the doors didn't open. Knocking, she waited a few minutes before Ryou came to the door and unlocked it. Ryou jumped back in surprise as Ichigo stormed into the café. "What's the big idea in running a business in this type of weather?" Ichigo scolded Ryou.

Ryou frowned as he said, "I gave everyone the day off."

"WHAT! Why wasn't I informed?" Ichigo demanded. Ryou shook his head.

"I tried to contact you, but you never answered your cell phone." Ryou explained.

Ichigo took out her cell phone and saw that Ryou had left five voice messages. "Oh, I guess you tried..." Ichigo said sheepishly. Ryou nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, bye." Ichigo said, turning around to head out the door. Ryou cut her off and locked the door.

"Not in this weather. I'm surprised you didn't get sick on your way here. Continuing to walk in this weather would surly be tempting fate. You'll just have to wait out the storm here, with me." Ryou said, gently pushing Ichigo to a seat.

Ichigo sat down, and Ryou went into the kitchen. After a few minutes, Ryou brought out some soup and set it in front of Ichigo. Smiling, Ryou said casually, "Nothing beats nice hot soup on a rainy day, right?"

Ichigo cautiously nodded her head as she began to eat. Ryou sat down and watched Ichigo eat the soup. Smiling as Ichigo squirmed at the attention, Ryou said, "Well, are you feeling better now?"

Ichigo nodded her head as she picked up the bowl and slurped down the remaining soup. Unfortunately, she spilled some soup on her clothes, causing her to jump up and let out a cry of surprise.

Ryou grinned and said with a laugh, "Wow, if you wanted to change clothes so bad, you could have just asked!" Ryou continued to laugh as Ichigo's face turned bright red.

"Kidding," Ryou said as he stood up and went upstairs to get her some dry, clean clothes. When he returned, Ichigo was hiding behind one of the tables.

Puzzled, Ryou started to come towards her before she held up a hand and said, "Don't come any closer. That soup I spilled was so hot, that it sorta burned me. I had to take off my shirt and skirt in order to stop the pain. Just, leave the clothes over where you are."

Ryou rolled his eyes but left the clothes where he was and then slightly backed up. Ichigo peaked around the table and said angerly, "Hey, go away! I've got to change."

Ryou shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Well, your wearing undergarments right? So, it's not like I would see anything." Nevertheless, Ryou turned around and walked out of the room. Coming back a few minutes later, he smiled as she was admiring the pink dress she was wearing. It had strawberries all over it.

"Like the dress, Ichigo?" Ryou asked, startling Ichigo. She swiftly turned around as her cat ears and tail popped out. "Why so nervous Ichigo?" Ryou questioned as he came over and looked into her brown eyes.

Ichigo stammered, "N-nervous? What should I be nervous about being so close to you?" Ichigo's face went a deep red as Ryou chuckled at the comment. His blue eyes seemed to twinkle at the humor.

"Obviously it isn't the fact me and you are alone, with no one around..." Ryou said calmly as Ichigo let out a gasp and moved so she was about ten meters away from Ryou.

Ryou smiled and sat down in a chair, watching as Ichigo tried to calm herself. "That wasn't funny Ryou!" Ichigo snapped, causing Ryou to shrug his shoulders in indifference.

"Seemed pretty funny to me." Ryou said, leaning back in his chair and placing his feet on the table. He closed his eyes and thought about the situation. His heart throbbed in desire, but he didn't really know how to react to it. _It was only natural that he would feel something towards Ichigo_, Ryou thought. After all, they had been working together for a few months now, and he was her boss. It was even more natural that he, being a boy, would want a girl to be with. He just didn't like the fact his desire right now was totally on Ichgio.

Sighing in frustration, Ryou opened his eyes and stood up...and in the process, fell backwards into the next table. Letting out a startled cry, Ichigo ran over to help Ryou sit up. There was some blood on the back of Ryou's head, but the cut didn't seem deep.

Ryou rubbed the back of his head and winced as he found the spot where the cut was. "Pretty clumsy of me." Ryou said sheepishly, noticing how close Ichigo was to him. Ichigo didn't seem aware of this at the moment, focusing all her attention on the cut.

"Sit still Ryou..." Ichigo said in annoyance as he shifted to try and get slightly closer. She left him for a few minutes and returned with some medication. She pored some of it into her hand and the moved to pore a little on the cut. The liquid that she used to clean the wound burned, but it was a small price to pay as Ryou enjoyed the closeness of Ichigo. He could feel her body heat and that seemed make his heart pound loudly enough that it caused Ichigo to stop and look at Ryou's chest.

"Are you ok?" Ichigo asked, placing a hand on his chest, feeling his heart pound. Ryou thought quickly and came up with a way to dispel her suspicion.

Smiling, Ryou said, "It's nothing. I have a adrenaline high right now because of knocking my head against the damn table." Ichigo seemed concerned about the pulse rate, but she wasn't a medic so she let it go.

Ryou breathed out in relief and waited as Ichigo applied a bandage to his cut. "Done?" Ryou asked, trying to get up.

"No, you got to let the bandage work. Sit still." Ichigo scolded Ryou as he tried to get past her. She pinned his arms down and sat on his stomach, effectively preventing Ryou from rising. Ryou went still and enjoyed the position, which Ichigo seemed oblivious too.

After about ten minutes Ichigo got off of Ryou, allowing him to get up and look around. The desire he felt was enormous. It took everything he had to ignore the urge to take Ichigo in his arms and kiss her. Ryou looked at one hand and noticed it was shaking slightly.

Looking at Ichigo, he saw a deep blush going through her. "What's wrong Ichigo?" Ryou asked, not knowing the reason why she was embarrassed.

"I just figured out that I was sitting on you for ten minutes and didn't even realize it." Ichigo said shyly, not looking at Ryou. He just chuckled at the thought, but then stopped as she started to walk away from him.

"Wait, I wasn't laughing at you!" Ryou cried out, running after Ichigo. She turned her head for a second and tripped over a chair. Crying out, she put her hands forward and tried to stop herself from falling. Ryou caught Ichigo and held her close to his chest.

After making sure she was ok, Ryou tried to release Ichigo but found that his arms didn't want to let go. Ichigo was getting uncomfortable being this close to Ryou, but he honestly did want to let go. At least, his mind did. His heart on the other hand was pounding with desire. Desire to taste her lips, desire to hold her, desire to...

Ryou physically slapped his face and released Ichigo. She stumbled backwards and caught herself before she could fall down again. Ryou sat down on the floor and looked at the window. There were sun beams going through it, indicating the storm was over. Ryou collected himself and let out a sigh of both happiness and regret at the same time.

Getting to his feet, Ryou said in a emotionless voice, "Ok, the storm is over. You can go if you want." Not waiting for her answer, Ryou ran upstairs and into his room. Slamming his door close, he calmed down and walked over to the window. Ichigo was walking towards her home, a confused look on her face. "Damn, that was really close." Ryou scolded himself, looking at his hands. They were trembling with unsatisfied desire. "I've got to be more careful in the future.

Ryou walked over to his bed and sat down in it. Sighing deeply, he laid back and said softly, "One day, I will find someone to hold...to kiss...to know...to love... I just hope and prey that the desire I feel for Ichigo isn't what I think it is." With that, Ryou closed his eyes and went to sleep.

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**Please review. Thanks!  
**


	2. Broken concentration

**I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew**

**Another chapter. Yeah!  
**

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It was nothing like the previous day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Ichigo's mood was a lot better. She still was a little disturbed about her boss's behavior, but Ichigo didn't really think too much into it. Obviously, he was scared of being alone in the rain, Ichigo reasoned.

With that on her mind, Ichigo walked into Café Mew Mew with no worries. She had a date with her love, Masaya, and she was getting paid today. Nothing could ruin her day, or so she thought.

When Ichigo came into the café, there was a huge argument going on. Mint was yelling at Lettuce, who was pointing at Ryou, who was yelling at Mint. They all stopped and turned towards Ichigo as she froze at the sudden attention. "Um...am I disturbing your argument?" Ichigo asked worriedly.

"No, but Ryou isn't being fair." Lettuce said, pointing at Ryou.

Ryou glared at Lettuce and then said, "I'm sorry, but I can't pay Ichigo right now. She broke so many dishes that her paycheck has to go towards buying new ones."

"WHAT!" Ichigo yelled.

"I was trying to get Lettuce to calm down." Mint said, walking over to a table and sitting down. "This has nothing to do with us Lettuce, so just let them work it out."

Lettuce glared at Ryou but went and sat down next to Mint. They watched as Ichigo stormed over to Ryou and then the yelling contest began.

"I've worked extra hard this week, and your cutting off my pay? Since when do you care about a few broken dishes?" Ichigo yelled at Ryou.

Ryou retorted with, "This isn't just this week alone. The dishes had to be payed for, but I've been holding off for a long time. I just decided that this week you should pay your debt."

They yelled for a long time, long enough for Mint and Lettuce to drink four cups of tea, eat a whole cake, and watch two television shows. The two finally settled down on the conclusion that if Ryou took Ichigo's paycheck today, then he could NEVER do it again.

"Fine," Ryou growled and went upstairs to his room. Ichigo went outside to call her mom and ask for money. When her mom said no, Ichigo went to Mint and asked, only to be rejected again.

Ichigo then started to get worried. If she didn't have any money, then she couldn't take Masaya on a date. Sure, Masaya could pay for it, but lately he's been the only one paying for everything on dates. Ichigo just couldn't bear to let him use money for her, so she was determined to pay this time.

She only had one choice. She went upstairs and knocked on Ryou's door. "Come in Ichigo." Ryou called from within the room. Ichigo opened the door slowly as she asked, "How did you know it was me?"

Ryou was shirtless, which caused Ichigo to gasp and cover her eyes with her hands. "I know because only you have the uncanny luck of coming into my room when I don't have a shirt on." Ryou explained, rolling his eyes at her reaction. "You've seen me with nothing but a towel on before. Do you always have to react this way?" Ryou asked, annoyed.

Ichigo uncovered her eyes, but kept her eyes averted as Ryou asked, "What do you want?"

"I...I need...I need a loan..." Ichigo stumbled over her words. Ryou looked slightly puzzled.

"You need a loan for what?" Ryou asked, putting a shirt on. Ichigo turned her eyes so she was looking into Ryou's blue eyes.

"I need a loan for a date that I'm going on..." Ichigo began to explain before a dark look from Ryou shut her up.

Ryou was actually going to give her the money before she said date, and that's when his emotions took over. "Sorry, I can't." Ryou said darkly.

Ichigo asked confused, "Why not? I'll pay you back, I swear I would."

Ryou shook his head and said softly, "That's not the reason why I won't give you the money. Now leave."

Ichigo stomped her foot and asked angerly, "What's the reason? What reason could you have..." Ichigo stopped.

"It's because I know your secret, isn't it?" Ichigo asked. Ryou looked confused as Ichigo went on. "Your scared of being alone when it rains."

Ryou smiled slightly as he shook his head in relief. "Nope," Ryou said.

"Well, then why won't you give me a loan?" Ichigo asked, getting annoyed.

Ryou sighed and placed one hand on his chest. He was trying to control his rapidly accelerating heart, but it didn't seem to work. Absolute desire filled him from head to toes, and it took all self control to not lose it and kiss Ichigo.

"Well, what's your reason?" Ichigo asked angerly, still waiting for a response. Ryou looked at Ichigo and felt his heart pick up speed.

"It's nothing to do with you or your date. I just..." Ryou began before Ichigo let out a startled gasp.

"That's it isn't it? You're lonely and you can't stand seeing me be happy with someone else!" Ichigo declared.

Ryou breathed in slowly and felt a slow pulsing in his head. Ryou walked over to the window and tried to clear his head. His vision slightly blurred as Ichigo came up to him and got up into his face. Her perfume, her closeness, her body warmth... it finally overwhelmed a struggling Ryou.

Ryou grabbed Ichigo by the shoulders and pinned her on his bed. He took out a small pill and forced it into her mouth. "Now, I can kiss you without you turning into a cat..." Ryou said lustily, his head swimming in desire.

"No!" Ichigo tried to yell out as Ryou kissed her roughly on the lips and tried to force his tongue into her mouth. She kicked out and caught Ryou in the groin, causing him to release her as he doubled over in pain.

That kick brought Ryou back to his senses, but it was too late. The damage had been done, and now Ichigo was running from the room. "Ichigo!" Ryou called out in fear, and took off running after her.

The other girls stopped and watched with curiosity as Ichigo went running from the café. "What's with her?" Mint asked, not drinking her tea as Ryou came running down the stairs and took off after Ichigo.

"I'll take it Ichigo didn't get a loan?" Lettuce asked Ryou as he ran by.

Ryou only growled his answer. He ran outside and saw Ichigo's back as she ran towards the park. "_Ichigo_!" Ryou cried out, trying to catch up. "IDIOT!" Ryou scolded himself. "You shouldn't have done that. All these months, all this waiting and self control...gone in less then five minutes!"

Ryou's long legs gave him the advantage of speed as he started to catch up with Ichigo. Suddenly, two psi swords came out of nowhere and forced Ryou to roll in order to avoid being killed. "Leave her alone you damned blondy." Kish growled as he materialized out of a tree.

Ryou was still on the ground, his breath knocked out of him by the fall. "What's going on? I hear Ichigo crying, and when I turn to see what's going on, I see you chasing her as she is obviously trying to get away from you." Kish said, picking up his psi swords. Ichigo had stopped and passed out from lack of air.

"You hurt my toy." Kish said angerly, bringing his psi swords up. "Now, its time for you to die!"

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**Cliffhanger! Please review, thanks!  
**


	3. Fighting can be deadly

**I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew**

**Cherrie-sakura, are you referring to Twilight with that review? I've never read that book or seen the movie, so I don't really know what that comment actually means. If this next part seems like a battle from the book or movie, then tell me. I don't wish to unintentionally copy another book.**

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Ryou let out a quick, "Damn it!" as he rolled to the left to avoid Kish's stab. He hadn't quite caught his breath, but he had just enough to yell out, "Go away you damned alien!"

Kish smiled and brought his little psi swords up for another attack. "You hurt my toy. Now you must die." Kish said happily as he punctuated each word with a stab at Ryou. Ryou was just bairly able to dodge each attack. Ryou kicked out and tripped Kish, giving Ryou just enough time to get to his feet.

"Well well, looks like blondy has some fight in him." Kish said with a chuckle as he brought his swords up to a defensive position. Ryou chanced a quick look over at Ichigo. She was still out cold, and didn't appear to be aware of the death fight taking place only a couple meters away.

"What's your name alien?" Ryou asked, trying to buy more time for himself. He needed to have all his breath back for this fight.

"My name is Kish, but you may call me death." Kish said as he lunged at Ryou. Ryou sidestepped and punched Kish in the face, sending him into a tree. Kish sorta stumbled from the blow, but quickly got up and turned on Ryou. Kish had a whole new respect about Ryou's fighting ability. "You fight well, for a normal human." Kish said, twirling his swords. "Unfortunately for you, I fight dirty." Kish finished with a laugh, calling for Taruto and Pai. The two appeared almost instantly and both looked annoyed.

"What the hell do you want Kish?" Taruto asked, rubbing his eye. He looked like he had just woke up.

"I need you and Pai to hold the blondy while I take Ichigo." Kish said with an evil smile as Ryou let out a angry growl.

"Fine, but you owe us BIG!" Taruto said angerly, disappearing with Pai and both of them appearing next to Ryou. They each grabbed Ryou's arm and held him down as Kish walked over to Ichigo.

"Damn it Kish!" Ryou yelled, struggling against the alien's grip. "Leave her alone! She doesn't deserve to be taken by the likes of you!"

Kish stopped and turned to face Ryou. "Well, she defiantly doesn't deserve the likes of YOU!" Kish said angerly, and then smiled as he lifted his psi swords. "Hold him while I carve out his liver." Kish said to Pai and Taruto, who both tightened their grip on Ryou's arms.

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" Ryou cried out, trying to kick Taruto's legs from out beneath him. The little alien was strong though because the kicks had no effect on him. "I only have one option left." Ryou said and then began to glow.

"What the..." both Pai and Taruto exclaimed as suddenly the arms they were holding on to shrank into a cat. Ryou completed the transformation in less then five seconds. He was now a cat.

"Kill that cat!" Kish yelled before charging at Ryou. Ryou easily avoided the charge, which caused Kish to run into Pai and Taruto.

"We're out of here!" Pai said angerly before he and Taruto teleported away.

Kish turned on Ryou, who was now running towards Ichigo. Ryou knew that he had absolutely no way of winning against Kish, but he knew someone else who could. Ryou reached Ichigo at the same time Kish reached him, and Kish stabbed at Ryou. What Kish understood too late was that his stab would actually kill both Ryou and Ichigo....if it actually had hit. Instead of metal hitting flesh, the sound of metal on metal rebounded through the forest.

Kish lifted his eyes and stared into two of the coldest blue eyes he had ever seen. "Blue knight..." Kish whispered before becoming enraged.

"You shall not hurt Ichigo." the blue knight said calmly, pushing his sword up so Kish was forced to back away from Ichigo and Ryou.

Ryou jumped off Ichigo and transformed back into his human self. "I never thought that I would ever actually be glad to see you." Ryou said quietly to the blue knight. The blue knight simply nodded his head in acknowledgement, but kept his eyes on Kish.

"DAMN YOU TO HELL!" Kish yelled as he charged the blue knight. The blue knight simply held his sword horizontally and hit Kish with the flat of his blade.

Kish gasped as his stomach was hit with the sword, then let out a groan as Ryou punched Kish in the side of the face with all his strength. Kish was thrown into a tree, where he laid motionless for a few seconds. Kish groaned once, then teleported away. The blue knight walked over to Ichigo, looked at her face, and then stood up.

"I leave her with you." the blue knight said, turning away from Ryou.

"Is she ok?" Ryou asked, bending down to check for a pulse on Ichigo's neck. When he found one, he sighed in relief.

"Yes, Ichigo will be. However, I have removed some of her memory of this event. She will wake up with no memory from this morning up to now." the blue knight said, walking away.

"Why?" Ryou said angerly, running and grabbing the blue knight's shoulder. The blue knight stopped and looked at Ryou's hand.

"She was under a lot of stress. I knew that what ever the stress was caused by, it had to do with today. So, I removed the memories in order to save her from the stress." the blue knight said, causing Ryou to remove his hand.

With that, the blue knight jumped into the trees and disappeared into the woods. Ryou walked over to Ichigo just as she started to wake up. Ryou paused, then reached down to help Ichigo to her feet. "Where....what happened?" Ichigo asked, obviously trying to remember what had happened.

Ryou smiled as he said, "You got so angry about me not giving you a raise that you ran away from me until you passed out. I guess you just had to prove a point to me."

Ichigo frowned, then exploded with, "I do all the work, I work hard, and all I ask for is a raise and you won't..." She stopped as Ryou handed her a roll of money.

"There's enough in there for your date tonight." Ryou said, hiding his sadness. He still didn't like Masaya, but he thought it was best to continue to cover up. Ichigo smiled and thanked Ryou as she ran home.

Ryou sighed and walked back to the café. "Well, my secret is still a secret." Ryou said softly to himself. He smiled as he remembered when he had kissed Ichigo.

"Well, her lips were..." Ryou started to say before shaking his head. "No need to think those thoughts. I already got one lucky break. No need to jinx myself."

Ryou went up to his bed and sat down to look outside. He could see Ichigo in the distance, obviously on her way to her date. "One day Ichigo, I will tell you..." Ryou yawed before lying down. "Tell you..." Ryou said dreamily and then went to sleep.

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**Well, what did you think? Good, bad, something else? Please review!**


	4. Unexpected note

**_I_ do not own Tokyo Mew Mew**

**Think about this for a moment. If you were in Ryou's shoes, and you just got away from kissing the girl/boy of your dreams without there knowledge, what would you do? That's the question for this chapter.**

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Ryou woke up to the sound of crashing dishes. Grumbling, he sat up from his bed and yawned. Looking around, Ryou noticed three things. One, his bed sheets were pulled away from him. Two, he was wearing nothing but boxers. The third and most shockingly was Ichigo was sleeping right next to him. Ryou let out a startled cry and literally fell out of the bed.

When he fell out of the bed, Ryou jarred his head for a moment. Shaking the dizziness from his clouded mind, he blinked a few times and discovered that Ichigo wasn't in his bed. All it happened to be was his pillow wrapped up in his blanket. Ryou let out a sigh of relief and then a groan as Ichigo opened the door.

Ryou knew what to expect so when Ichigo out a shriek at the sight of him in nothing more then red checkered boxers, he didn't move and waited for her to recover herself. Ryou calmly got to his feet and stared at Ichigo, who was blushing fiercely. "Do you have a reason for coming into my room while I have almost no clothing? Or, do you just like seeing my chest and wish to see more?" Ryou said, smiling as Ichigo's cat ears and tail popped out.

"I'm not perverted like you apparently are!" Ichigo yelled, her face redder then a strawberry.

"You never said no to my question," Ryou said, still smiling. He let out a small sigh and asked, "What is your true reason for being in here?"

Ichigo was still blushing, but she was able to stammer out, "I just wanted to see if you were all right. I heard something fall and didn't know what happened up here."

Ryou chuckled and said to himself, "Only because I thought you were in my bed with me."

"What was that?" Ichigo asked, trying to read Ryou's lips.

"I said, only because I heard someone drop some dishes." Ryou said angerly, trying to switch the subject.

Ichigo mumbled something like, "Pudding and her tricks," and then turned around to leave. Ryou watched as she stopped by the door and placed a small envelope on the floor before running downstairs. Ryou walked over to the envelope and opened it.

Inside the envelope was a note. Ryou was curious so he carefully opened the letter. It read:

_Dear my love,_

_I have always loved you. I know this sounds weird, but it was not until yesterday that I was able to figure out my love for you. I do not know how to say this in simple letter terms, but I would like to talk. Please meet me in the park by the ice-cream vendor later this morning, about eleven o'clock. _

_See you soon,_

_Your secret admirer_

A few things went through Ryou's mind. One thing, the letter was obviously not written by Ichigo. It also wasn't written by anyone that worked at the café. Ryou put the letter on his bed as he walked to the bathroom. After a quick shower, he came out and reread the letter a few more times. It didn't make any sense. Shrugging, Ryou walked over to his closet and put on some blue jeans and a black sleeveless leather jacket.

Ryou walked downstairs and was almost hit with a flying dish. He ducked and the dish crashed into the wall, shattering into hundreds of pieces. Ryou looked up angerly and saw Lettuce holding her hands to her face in fear and Ichigo looking sheepish. "Let me guess, you did this?" Ryou said, annoyed and pointing at Ichigo.

"I'm sorry..." Ichigo started to apologize before Ryou held up his hand.

"We'll talk later. Right now, I would like you to accompany me to the park for a date." Ryou said with a serious face.

Ichigo's face went red and Lettuce dropped a dish that she had been holding. "What!" Ichigo and Lettuce both screamed as Ryou chuckled slightly.

"Well, maybe I should explain. Ichigo, who gave you that letter?" Ryou asked, looking at Ichigo.

"Well, I found it outside and it said "to Ryou," so I gave it to you." Ichigo said, starting to calm down.

Ryou nodded his head as he said, "As I thought. Well, that note asked me to come to the park in a few minutes. I have a bad feeling about this, so I would like you to accompany me just in case something happens."

Ichigo nodded her head as Lettuce asked, "Why her? Why not someone else?"

"Because she is the only one here I actually know and trust completely." Ryou said, noticing the dark look that went across Lettuce's face. "Don't act like that. You know as well as I do that Ichigo was the first mew and therefor I have been working with her the longest. I _know_ the way she would react to situations." Ryou explained, walking over to Ichigo and touched her shoulder. "Lets go."

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**Thanks for reading up to this point...onto the next chapter!**


	5. Good guess

**I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew**

**Here's the next chapter...enjoy!  
**

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Ryou and Ichigo ran out the front doors and quickly ran to the park. Neither one of them noticed Lettuce was secretly following them. Lettuce felt bad for spying, but she wasn't about to let Ryou get hurt. Of course, she didn't want Ichigo to get hurt either, but she was more concerned about Ryou.

"Ryou, what do I do when we get there?" Ichigo asked Ryou as they ran into the park.

"Transform and jump into a tree nearby. I will go alone at first with you in the tree as back up. It might actually be something real, but my gut tells me it's a trap." Ryou said, gritting his teeth as memories popped up in his head. He was remembering something about a story he once heard. It was on the tip of his head, but he couldn't remember what it was about. However, the story had something exactly like this.

"Hide now." Ryou said to Ichigo, who had transformed during his memory search. She nodded and jumped into a nearby tree. "Stay safe Ichigo..." Ryou said quietly, slowing his run into a walk. He came to the location that was indicated on the note, but no one was there. Ryou looked at a clock that was on the ice-cream vender's top and saw it was time for the meeting.

Ryou sat down on a bench and waited. After five minutes, a cloaked figure walked out from the trees and sat down beside a relaxed Ryou. He slightly tilted his head and looked at the person, but he couldn't tell who it was.

"Ryou?" The figure asked, causing Ryou to flinch.

"Don't you know who I am?" Ryou asked, annoyed.

The figure turned and then threw off the cloak. Ryou gasped and tried to jump over the bench, but failed as Pai grabbed his leg, tripping Ryou.

Ryou fell face first into the ground as Pai quickly tied up Ryou's legs. "Foolish human..." Pai said, tone emotionless. When Pai finished tying up Ryou, Pai picked up Ryou like he was nothing more then a sack of potatoes. "Let's go." Pai said, walking towards the pond.

"What the hell do you want with me alien?" Ryou asked, looking for Ichigo.

"Your the head of this "mew" operation." Pai explained, standing next to the pond. "With you...gone, then the mews would certainly lose and the earth would soon be ours." With that, Pai threw Ryou into the water and watched as Ryou started to go under the water.

Ryou stopped struggling as he saw a flash of green. Smiling, he let himself go under the water. Pai watched until Ryou couldn't be seen and turned around to be confronted by Ichigo. "Well, what an unexpected encounter." Pai said curiously, noticing the way Ichigo was smiling. "Why are you so happy? I just killed your leader."

Ichigo shrugged and said, "Maybe you have a different definition of death then I do, because Ryou isn't dead."

Pai turned around and received a powerful punch to his face. Pai fell backwards and was caught roughly by Ichigo. "See?" Ichigo said, smiling at Pai's dazed expression.

"But...how?" Pai asked as Ichigo used some rope that she found and tied up Pai.

Lettuce came out from behind Ryou and had a torn look on her face. Ryou noticed it but didn't comment on it. "Lettuce here saved my life. I'm in debt to her." Ryou announced, smiling slightly as a small blush went across her face.

Ichigo grunted like she didn't care, but she was beating herself up for not saving Ryou. For Ryou to be in debt to her... Ichigo wondered about the possibilities.

"Can I have that debt repaid now?" Lettuce asked nervously, looking at Ryou.

Ryou looked shocked but quickly switched to a calm look as he asked, "What would you like me to do?"

"I..." Lettuce said, pausing as the torn look returned. She shut her eyes and cried out, "I want Pai to be released!"

Ryou looked annoyed and Ichigo looked shocked, but Ryou said, "Release him."

Ichigo grumbled and released Pai, who instantly teleported away. Lettuce fell to her knees and started to cry at her decision. "It's ok Lettuce," Ryou said carefully, anger at losing the alien's brain of the operation slowly dissipating.

"Why Lettuce?" Ichigo snapped, angry. "You could have made Ryou pay us more, but instead you waste it on sparing a enemy?"

Ryou lifted one hand to silence Ichigo and bent down to pick Lettuce up. She snuggled up against Ryou's chest and cried out her confusion. Ichigo looked shocked but Ryou looked at her and said, "I would do this for anyone. Sometimes, all a person really needs is a shoulder to cry on."

Lettuce fell asleep in Ryou's arms while he and Ichigo walked back to the café. "Ryou, I'm sorry about not warning you..." Ichigo said softly, expecting a angry outburst.

The outburst never came. Instead, Ryou smiled slightly and said, "When I noticed that you didn't come out the moment Pai appeared, I knew you had a plan. I trusted you, and everything ended well...well, maybe not for Lettuce and Pai, but for me anyway."

Ichigo looked at Ryou and smiled. "Want to go see a movie some time?" she asked. Ryou looked at her and thought about it.

Ichigo quickly said, "Not as a date mind you, just as your treat for having me give you back up."

Ryou smiled and said, "Ok, deal."

They arrived at the café about the same time it had to close for the day. The other girls were already gone, so Ryou gently woke up Lettuce and let her go home. Ichigo stayed for a few minutes, just cleaning off some tables that looked dirty and then left to go home. Ryou felt his heart swell as he watched her leave.

"Well, this was an unexpected surprise." Ryou said to himself, walking upstairs. "Looks like she's finally starting to take a interest in me. I wonder..." Ryou said as he got into his bed. Looking at the setting sun, he went to sleep.

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**Nothing much to comment on...so, onto the next chapter.  
**


	6. The date

**I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

**Well, here's the next chapter…THE DATE!**

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Ichigo was brushing her hair when the doorbell rang. Looking at the time, she smiled. "Time to go and see a movie with my boss," she told herself softly, putting down the brush and going to the front door. When she opened it, her she was breathless at the sight. Ryou was standing there in a white tux, his blond hair sparkling like he had just got out of the shower and his blue eyes twinkling with humor.

"Surprised by my appearance?" Ryou asked, smiling as Ichigo blushed lightly.

"Who are you?" Ichigo's father asked from behind her.

Ichigo turned around, but before she could explain anything, Ryou said calmly, "I am Ichigo's boss, and I am here to take her to the movies. Nothing inappropriate will be displayed or tolerated by me or Ichigo, as stated in the code of conduct in the Japanese code of working conditions."

That seemed to satisfy Ichigo's father…and the appearance of a waiting stretch limo also didn't hurt either. "Just be back by midnight." He told Ryou before walking away.

Ryou held out one hand and on the back of Ichigo's waist. He gently led her to the limo and opened the door for her to admit her in. Once he got in, he waved to the driver, who immediately started to drive them to the movie theater. Turning to Ichigo, he said, "Nice dress."

Ichigo blushed and mumbled her thanks. She was wearing a light pink dress, it curving downwards on her chest slightly. It wasn't revealing, but its length went down only to her knees. It was sleeveless and covered with a light dusting of something shiny, which reflected light off and made her appear to sparkle. "You look good too." Ichigo said with a blush, not knowing what to say.

Ryou smiled and looked out the window. His heart was racing, but at least it was under control. At least, it was until he caught whiff of Ichigo's perfume. It was fruity…with a faint hint of vanilla. "Interesting perfume." Ryou said, looking at her.

Ichigo blushed and said, "I kind of thought I should wear something a little different. You know, be a little exotic."

An image of Ichigo and Ryou dancing appeared in Ryou's mind, but he quickly banished the thought. "So…which movie do you want to see?" Ryou asked mildly, not really caring which movie he saw.

Ichigo said with a slight laugh, "Tokyo Guardians, Mew Power!"

Ryou flinched at that. The movie was basically a cheap imitation of the mew mews and their fights. "Are you sure?' Ryou asked before Ichigo shook her head in a yes.

When they got to the movie theater, the place was packed. They somehow found two seats and sat down, only to realize they had no popcorn or soda. Ryou got up and went to get the food and drinks. When he returned though, he found an older teen boy sitting next to a nervous Ichigo. As he got closer, Ryou heard the rude comments the teen boy was making about her and what he wanted to do with her. Ryou felt rage boil up from his stomach, so he placed the food and drinks on the ground, walked up and tapped the teen boy on the shoulder, and punched him in the nose as he turned around.

The snap of a breaking nose could be heard throughout the theater, but there was no fight. Ryou had hit the boy so hard that it knocked him out. Ryou dragged the unconscious boy out of his seat and then retrieved his food and drinks. Sitting down next to Ichigo, he asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"Thanks…" Ichigo said with a nervous blush as the movie started to come on the big screen.

**About two hours later…**

"How disappointing," Ichigo said with a laugh as she walked out of the theater with Ryou. Ryou didn't say anything, his thoughts on how the movie did injustice to their work. For one thing, Ichigo in the movie was wearing a skimpy outfit, and she had been portrayed as someone who constantly wanted to sleep with everyone. It sickened Ryou that anyone would dare say that about Ichigo…more then he cared to dwell on.

Ichigo seemed to find the movie humorous, though she didn't find it funny when her screen self slept with the screen Kish. In fact, Ryou had to hold her back because she wanted to break the movie projector.

"Well, are you hungry?" Ryou asked mildly, full of popcorn and soda. Ichigo shook her head no, so Ryou had the limo pick them up and drive them back to her house.

They sat in silence as they drove through Tokyo. When they finally arrived at Ichigo's house, she blushed once, gave Ryou a quick kiss on the cheek, and ran into her house. Ryou watched her with curiosity, and thought about what he should do.

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**I'll just say this…go Ryou! He's getting closer and closer to Ichigo, one step at a time. Encourage him via reviews…jk, but honestly, please review. Thanks!**


	7. Triangle

**I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

**Ok, this is re-edited to make it longer. Enjoy.**

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Ryou sat up from his bed with a start, his skin soaked with cold sweat. "Ichigo…" Ryou said sadly, visions of the red haired girl floating in his eyes. He could taste her strawberry lips on his lips. His heart beat like crazy as Ryou stood up and went into his bathroom to take a warm shower. It was half an hour later when he finally came out, his skin shining a light reddish color from the heat of his shower.

"Hm…I wonder what Ichigo would say if she saw me now," Ryou said, padding down his naked body with a towel. Looking at the window, he noticed the sun was just beginning to rise. "Well, I'm already up. Looks like it's going to be a long day," Ryou said with a grimace. He walked over to a mirror and looked at himself.

Ryou's blue eyes were twinkling like sapphires, his hair shiny and reflective from the water droplets still in it. "You look good today Ryou, but you need to behave yourself. Remember, Ichigo does have a boyfriend, who she loves very much," Ryou said scornfully at his own reflection.

Smiling sheepishly, Ryou walked over to his bed and said softly, "I'm almost like that damn green haired alien now. All I ever dream about is that kiss I stole from her, all I see when I'm awake is her face smiling, and in between those two, I hope to do something that will let her know I have deeper feelings then the desire that should normally happen."

A small noise coming from downstairs caused Ryou to look at the door and quickly pull on some red boxers. It was a good thing too, because almost as soon as Ryou had pulled the boxers on, Lettuce opened the door and came in. Her face turned bright red as she let out a startled cry, covering her eyes. "Lettuce, what do you want at this early of an hour? The café isn't even open at this time." Ryou said, annoyed and amused at the same time.

Lettuce's blush deepened and before Ryou could do anything, she collapsed on the ground. Ryou ran over to her and checked her breathing. Discovering that she had only passed out due to embarrassment, Ryou sat down beside her and looked at Lettuce while her breathing returned to normal. "Lettuce, why do you have to have such a complex love triangle?" Ryou said with a low chuckle, looking at mental image of Pai.

"I can tell you have some sort of feelings towards me and even stronger feelings for Pai, but why can't you just tell him you love him?" Ryou asked her unconscious body before standing up and going to get some blue jeans and a checkered shirt. Putting them on, he felt presentable and picked up Lettuce before carrying her downstairs and putting her gently in a chair.

"Lettuce, are you awake yet?" Ryou asked gently as Lettuce's eyes started to slowly open. She looked at Ryou for a few seconds before her face turned bright red and she let out a loud shriek of embarrassment. "Please save that for later Lettuce. Let me ask you a question…did you come over this morning because you heard of my outing with Ichigo?"

Lettuce started to shake her head no, but then dropped her gaze and said softly, "yes."

Ryou smiled softly and said gently, "I know someone you should talk to Lettuce."

Lettuce looked up gratefully at Ryou, but when he shook his head indicating it wasn't him, her look fell. "I know you care about the alien boy Pai, so why don't you go ask him out?" Ryou suggested calmly, watching for her reaction.

Without any hesitation, Lettuce said, "I don't have the money or courage to take out someone as special as Pai…"

Smiling with amusement, Ryou handed Lettuce a few thousand Yin. "Take this and have a good time Lettuce." He said happily, his smile growing as she ran out the door and let out a happy cry.

Shaking his head, Ryou went and prepared to open the café. All of a sudden, some feeling warned Ryou that he was being watched, so he turned around to come face to face with an angry looking Pai.

"What the hell do you think you were doing with Lettuce?" Pai demanded, his voice nothing more then a hiss.

Ryou shrugged and replied with a calm voice, "I didn't do anything to her."

Pai growled and said in a accusing tone, "I know she came in here to see you."

Ryou didn't respond to the accusation, instead saying, "I think you may want to go to the park in a few minutes to see her before she gets too far ahead of you."

Looking annoyed, Pai turned away from Ryou and teleported away. Ryou smiled and went to open the café. After a few minutes, Ichigo arrived, actually early today. "Well, if you keep this up, someones getting a raise." Ryou said with a chuckle as he walked into the kitchen and began wiping down the surfaces with a clean rag. When that was done, Ryou noticed that Ichigo was looking at him with a sad look in her eyes, almost like she was expecting something.

"What do you want?" Ryou asked curiously, placing his hands across his chest. Ichigo blushed deeply but didn't say anything. "Well?" Ryou asked again, his patiencefor this type of thing nonexistent.

Ichigo's cat ears popped out as she ran over to Ryou, giving him a little card before running away. Ryou opened the card and saw it was a invitation to a dance this weekend. Ryou chuckled at the thought of him and Ichigo dancing. Ryou shook his head as he realized that it might be a bad idea for him to be that close to Ichigo again. Memories of him kissing her was fresh in his mind, and he didn't want a repeat of that incident. However, he slipped her a note later on that day saying that he would be honored to take her to the dance, as friends this time.

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**Well, how did this chapter do? The next chapter will most likely be the final one, because I'm not good at prolonged ideas like this story.**


	8. Dances reveal feelings

**I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

**Final chapter. Nothing much else to say.**

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It was the day of the dance. Ryou was sitting in a chair, looking up at Café Mew Mew's ceiling. He had closed the café for the day so he could think. "What seems to be the trouble Ryou?" Keiichiro asked, coming up from behind Ryou.

Ryou didn't respond at first. He slowly lowered his head and looked at the ground. "I don't know Keiichiro, but I have a bad feeling about this dance that Ichigo wants to go to."

Keiichiro pulled up a chair and sat facing Ryou. He asked calmly, "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

Ryou looked at Keiichiro and said softly, "I don't know." Ryou put his head between his hands and mumbled, "I honestly don't know."

Keiichiro slowly stood up and walked over to Ryou. He patted Ryou's shoulder and said with a smile, "You'll do what you feel is right Ryou. Just remember that sometimes feelings can work both ways."

Ryou looked up at Keiichiro and sighed. Keiichiro walked to the front doors and went outside to go home. Ryou continued to sit in the chair, thinking of what he should do. At least, he did for about an hour before he heard the door open. "We're closed for the day," Ryou said instinctively. When he didn't hear the person leave, he looked over and saw Lettuce standing there. Ryou smiled as he asked, "How did you and Pai do?"

Lettuce blushed and said, "We had fun eating at a few sushi bars and going to museums." Ryou shook his head in amusement. He guessed that Pai and Lettuce would like to visit museums on a date…but not him. "I just wanted to say thank you Ryou," Lettuce said before walking over to him and handing him a small present. She turned around and ran out the front doors before Ryou started to unwrap the present carefully.

When Ryou looked at what it was, he laughed. "Now, this would do nicely…" Ryou said as he went upstairs to change into the new suit that he had just received.

**That night…**

Ichigo sat at a table alone in the dance hall. It was basically her gymnasium, with lots of balloons on the ceiling and simple card tables with fold-out chairs as seats. The walls were covered with a yellow paint, and the tables were arranged near the walls so that the middle of the gymnasium was left bare for dancers. A buffet table was near the door so that a person could grab something to eat one their way into the dance.

The food wasn't anything special, just simple pastries like cup-cakes, cookies, and brownies. The punch was also located on the buffet table. Ichigo sighed and looked around again. _I did remember to tell him what time the dance was, didn't I? _Ichigo asked herself.

She was wearing a red dress that went down to her ankles. It was a ballroom dress style, so it had long sleeves and went all the way up to the bottom of her neck so not to be revealing in even the slightest since.

Someone tapped Ichigo on the shoulder, causing her to turn and face Ryou. She felt her breath catch in her throat. He was wearing a black tux, but it was obvious that who ever had made it was a master in the art of weaving. She touched it and let out a small gasp. It was softer to the touch then silk and lighter then a feather. Even though it was soft, Ichigo didn't doubt that the material was stronger then any cloth she had ever encountered.

Ryou pulled a rose out from behind him and gave it to Ichigo. "I know I'm a little late, but I had to pick up a few personal items," Ryou explained with a smile. Ichigo started to ask what personal items when she saw out the corner of her eye a few men installing some spotlights. Ryou looked at them and chuckled. "That would be considered a personal item," Ryou said as the men finished installing the spotlights and started to point them in different locations.

Ryou held out his hand and helped Ichigo to her feet. "What dance styles do you know?" Ryou asked as he led Ichigo to the middle of the dance floor. Other couples were already dancing and seemed to each be doing different dances.

"I don't know…I think I know a simple ballroom dance…" Ichigo said as Ryou mumbled something into the cuff of his jacket and suddenly the spot lights focused on them. "What the…" Ichigo started to ask before Ryou put one hand on Ichigo's hip and the other in her hand. He focused on Ichigo's face and waited until the music suddenly switched to a slow dancing rhythm. Then, he began to dance tango style with Ichigo. She stumbled at first, but quickly got the hang of the tango and soon the two of them were dancing.

The other couples stopped dancing and watched Ichigo and Ryou for a little while before they started to try to dance the tango. Ryou smiled when he saw their failed attempts at copying them. "How does it feel?" Ryou asked mildly as he picked up the speed of the dance.

"How does what feel?" Ichigo asked and also picked up the speed without any trouble.

Ryou grinned and said, "how does it feel to be one of the only couple's here that know how to tango?" Ichigo shifted her eyes a little and smiled when she saw couples stepping on each other's feet.

They continued to dance for an hour before Ichigo needed to rest. Ryou went and got some punch for them while she sat down at a table to take a breather. As Ryou walked up to the buffet table, he noticed the guy that was serving the punch was Masaya. Puzzled, he asked, "how come you didn't come to this dance with Ichigo?"

Masaya looked at Ryou for a few seconds before smiling and said, "She never asked, and I had already somehow been assigned this job. I take it that you're her date?"

Ryou took two cups of punch and said mildly, "would you care if I was?"

Masaya kept smiling as he said, "I wouldn't mind…after all, Ichigo's her own person. I wouldn't ever stand in her way if she wanted someone new. We're not married or anything, so she is free to make her own choices."

That caused Ryou to look at Masaya before walking away from him. "Odd," Ryou said to himself. He walked up to Ichigo and gave her a cup of punch before he drank his own. For the rest of the night, the two went on and off dancing, each time Ryou teaching Ichigo a foreign dance. Ichigo had lots of fun, but was saddened when the dance ended at midnight. Ryou gave Ichigo a ride back to her house in a white limo. Ryou got out of the limo first and helped Ichigo get out.

"I had fun Ryou, thank you for going with me," Ichigo said as she lean her head forward and gave Ryou a kiss on the cheek. She started to walk to her house when Ryou gently touched her shoulder. Ichigo stopped and looked at Ryou before he leaned forward slowly and whispered into her ear, "If you give me permission, I would like to kiss you more appropriately."

Ichigo started to say that she would turn into a cat if he kissed her, but he held out a small pill and said softly, "This will prevent you from transforming." Ichigo nodded and picked up the pill before swallowing it. Ryou took a deep breath. He slowly and carefully kissed Ichigo on the lips. It was gentle and well controlled, something that Ichigo wasn't expecting. She had never been kissed like this, and she soon started to want more. She kissed him back and with a passion. Ryou put his hand on the back of her head and gently pushed her deeper into the kiss. Ichigo didn't protest or break the kiss, instead actually doing the same to Ryou.

After a few minutes, Ryou broke off the kiss and turned around to slowly walk to the limo. He stopped when Ichigo said, "Ryou…" Ryou turned around and saw Ichigo smile. "Ryou…would you…I mean, I think…" Ichigo said as an blush went over her face.

Ryou came over to her and hugged her before saying, "I love you…"

Ichigo returned the hug and said, "I love you to." She looked up into his eyes and was kissed on the lips by Ryou.

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**Well, that's the end. Thanks for reading.**


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